142 ENCORE – Proposal Schedules

If you work in the Government acquisition world, this podcast is for you. (not just for Contracting Officers!)

This is an encore presentation of a very early episode.

How much time does Industry need to prepare and submit a proposal? How much is not enough? How much is too much? What is Industry doing with that time?

Failure to communicate can cause Industry to struggle to submit a compliant proposal on time, often leaving the Government with fewer high quality proposals to consider. Kevin and Paul tackle both sides of the proposal response time question and offer guidance on how to find a balance between the extremes of too little and too much time.

__________

Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer created the Contracting Officer Podcast to help Government and Industry acquisition professionals understand more about how the other side thinks. Admittedly, the podcast’s name sounds very limiting. It is not just for contracting officers or even just for those in the contracting profession. Anyone with an interest in the Federal acquisition world can benefit from the insight and down-to-earth explanations of complicated topics provided by the hosts.

Thanks for this Podcast. I have been in the “proposal business” all of my career, even as a senior executive. I think you hit the key points, but let me comment on a few.
Certified Cost and Pricing Data- if a company doesn’t already have their data certified, they shouldnt be bidding, regardless of how much time you give!
Government Pricing Template- This indeed can be problemmatic, AND you can be elmiminated if there is ONE error in the template response. CO’s need to ensure that the template is part of DRFP and they do not make last minute changes either at or during the RFP time period.
Companies should not be bidding things that they did not have a Capture phase for, and have not been following and qualified their ability to win before the RFP is released, regardless of how much time the CO gives them. We all know companies that bid anything that moves, they are , in the end, wasting their time and the government’s time.
Lastly, I have seen too many RFP’s that create sections L&M (or the equivalent) and have specific evaluation criteria, with a low page count. Then they have a large PWS or SOW and require the bidder be responsive to ALL of the PWS or SOW requirements in 10 pages! No can do, or at least cannot do justice to that.
I have been involved in many acquisition reform initiatives during my years in industry. We have both made progress, but more can still be done. I think it is in the Government’s best interest to have fewer, not more bidders. To have truly qualified bidders. Remember, the contractor proposal team may work long and hard to write the proposal, but the government will too in order to read and evaluate all the proposals submitted.
In the end, I believe this kind of dialogue leads to better proposals and awards for all.
Thanks.